ERIC Number: EJ905607
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2010-Dec
Pages: 12
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0272-7757
EISSN: N/A
The Role of Peers and Grades in Determining Major Persistence in the Sciences
Ost, Ben
Economics of Education Review, v29 n6 p923-934 Dec 2010
Using longitudinal administrative data from a large elite research university, this paper analyzes the role of peers and grades in determining major persistence in the life and physical sciences. In the physical sciences, analyses using within-course, across-time variation show that ex-ante measures of peer quality in a student's introductory courses has a lasting impact on the probability of persisting in the major. This peer effect exhibits important non-linearities such that weak students benefit from exposure to stronger peers while strong students are not dragged down by weaker peers. In both the physical and the life sciences, I find evidence that students are "pulled away" by their high grades in non-science courses and "pushed out" by their low grades in their major field. In the physical sciences, females are found to be more responsive to grades than males, consistent with psychological theories of stereotype vulnerability. (Contains 7 tables and 10 figures.)
Descriptors: Introductory Courses, Research Universities, Grades (Scholastic), Physical Sciences, Biological Sciences, Gender Differences, Peer Influence, Science Education, Longitudinal Studies, Classroom Environment, STEM Education, Academic Persistence, Student Attrition, College Students, Student Characteristics, Correlation, Predictor Variables, Majors (Students)
Elsevier. 6277 Sea Harbor Drive, Orlando, FL 32887-4800. Tel: 877-839-7126; Tel: 407-345-4020; Fax: 407-363-1354; e-mail: usjcs@elsevier.com; Web site: http://www.elsevier.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
IES Cited: ED544470